Dandelion Egg Custard - 

Chawan Mushi

--- For the Custard: ----
4 eggs  (1 cup liquid)
stock*  (fish or chicken, or dashi)
salt*
soy sauce*
mirin, sweet sherry, or sugar*

---- Suggestions for the trimmings: ----
---- (a) seafoods: ----
clams, shucked
shrimp, cleaned and parboiled***
oysters, shucked
1/3 lb mild fish (flounder, cod, grouper, striper, etc.)
---- (b) 1/4 lb chicken breast, in 1/2" morsels
---- (c) vegetables: ----
dandelion greens (from Stannard Farms), parboiled***
lily root, parboiled*
ginko nuts (raw or canned)
trefoil (perilla)
mushrooms** (shiitake)
chestnuts, sliced
spinach, parboiled***
watercress
sorrel, parboiled***
okra, sliced
tofu
peas or snow peas
water chestnuts, sliced
etc.

* For a soft custard, almost a soup, use:
     3 cups stock, 1 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp mirin (1/3 tsp sugar)
  For a medium custard use:
     2 cups stock, 2/3 tsp salt, 1 tsp soy sauce, 2/3 tsp mirin (1/4 tsp sugar)
 For a firm custard use:
     1 cup stock, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp soy sauce, and omit mirin/sugar.

** Best to use fresh shiitake (from North Tabor farm) but dried mushrooms soaked in sake, vermouth, stock, dry sherry, or water will work fine.

*** To parboil: Heat pot of water to boiling.  Have ready large bowl full of cold water. Drop in the food to be parboiled and cook for 30 seconds for leafy vegetables, 1 minute for shrimp, and 3 minutes for roots.  Remove and immediately plunge into cold water. 

This is a classic Japanese recipe for a savory custard and is one of the most popular comfort foods.  Consequently, there are as many ways of preparing it and selecting ingredients as there are cooks.  It can be served hot or cold, although we prefer it hot.  The cooking time given is for coffee mug size containers and the quantities will make 4-6 such cups, depending on the amount of solids in each serving and the size of the mugs.  Most Japanese (and we) prefer the soft, soupy version to be served hot, the medium version if to be served cold,  'Chawan mushi' means 'steamed bowl'. 

The underlying idea is to put some seafood (and chicken) as well as a selection of raw (or parboiled) vegetables and nuts in each cup, fill the cups with the custard, and steam. 

One random example of what might be found in each cup is: 1 shrimp, 1 clam, 1 piece chicken, 3 dandelion leaves, 1 spinach leaf, and 2 ginko nuts. Another way of putting it is: "Cook's choice".

To make the custard:
Break the eggs into a bowl and stir to break up the whites as much as possible without generating foam - do not beat.  Stir in the room temperature stock and the remaining custard ingredients, and stir gently.  If any foam has developed, skim it off.

Place the desired meats and vegetables into each cup and pour the stock over, leaving 1/2" of free space above liquid.  If any bubbles form, break them up or skim them off. Cover each cup with tightly clinging plastic wrap and then put a lid (e.g., aluminum foil) over each cup. Set in a steamer or hot water bath and steam for about 20 minutes (depends on the size of the cups and the thickness of their wall) until a knife inserted in the center comes out wet but not eggy.
Serve at once, or chill.

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